This plane started out as an FSD Raptor 36 . Three of my coworkers got the kit, and the one that is on the FSD website is actually one of theirs. The two that were built managed to have their fuselages broken. Both pilots had the excuse that it was the plane's fault for having such a sensitive CG.

Either way I saw this as an opportunity to make a custom plane that I've always been wanting to make. I have a JW36 from L2 Airframes, and I thought that it would look good if it had a v-tail on it.

I needed some EPP for the fuselage so I glued together old wing beds from my RiteWing . I just glued them together on the flats, cut in half, then glued together along the flats again to get a core section with a nice "t" as the glue line. I was intending to use this glue line as a guide and centerline as I shaped the fuse. The bandsaw had a different idea, though, and my centerline got all out of place. The length of the fuselage is just the length of the foam that I glued together. I drew a rough outline of what I thought would look cool and started shaping the EPP with sandpaper.

The FSD Suraci was definitely an inspiration for this design. Paige makes some really nice looking planes. This was my way of getting a Suraci in a smaller size. The main goal in making this plane was to have something simple and durable. I mean, let's not forget how I ended up getting the plane in the first place. When we're trying to combat, no one gets hit. As soon as...Continue Reading

Here is a picture of the 2nd plane I've ever made. It was a Sport Flyers Wild Wing that I picked up from Hobby People. The sales guy at the store said I can just install standard size servos and use it as a slope plane. I, not knowing any better, went ahead and stuck in some Hitec HS-325HB's that I had lying around. The damn servos barely fit into the width of the wing. Then, since about 4 of my friends decided to get a Wild Wing also, I decided to cut up one of the vertical chloroplast fins and add it to the back of the plane to give it a more delta look.

Needless to say, this totally f*d my CG, and I had to add a couple of copper bus bars to the front of the plane just to get it to fly right. I think the manual says that maximum flying weight should be around 19 oz. I need to measure my weight in pounds. I wouldn't be surprised if mine was double that.

So, after all that, it actually flies pretty nice...in Category 5 hurricane winds. This thing has John Holmes-like penetration. Plus with the oversized servos it rolls like crazy.

Everyone that has seen it says it's nice and they want to copy it. Just remember, I was the first, people! Burton Wild Wing!